My favourite blog post of the week was in the Harvard Business Review (HBR), not normally somewhere I hang out but worth it on this occasion. The author admitted that in about half of his business conversations he had ‘almost no idea what other people are saying’. He goes on to say that […]
Video: Legally Ballroom
The G20 endorsed a raft of critical papers from the Financial Stability Board (FSB) in Cannes in early November. They included the policy for addressing the “too-big-to-fail” issues posed by Systemically Important Financial Institutions (SIFIs). The G20 also named the first 29 Global SIFIs (G-SIFIs), all banking groups. Rosali Pretorius of SNR Denton asks come […]
It’s official. Clifford Chance doesn’t want to be big, it wants to be Broad. Today’s news that the magic circle firm is in talks with Beijing’s Broad & Bright confirms a significant shift in its expansion strategy (see story). Three years ago it got halfway down the aisle with Mallesons (see story), only to decide […]
What was your first-ever job? A Saturday job stacking wine shelves in Waitrose. What was your worst experience as a trainee? Late one night at Slaughter and May’s offices, I was absolutely starving, so I devoured a plate of sarnies in one of the breakout rooms, only to find out they were being saved for […]
Mayer Brown has hired a New York Allen & Overy counsel as a partner in its London corporate practice. Move of the week Hill Dickinson has appointed Tricia Cottrell as head of family in its commercial litigation practice. Cottrell specialises in divorce and judicial separation, dealing with high-value financial applications. She joins from JMW […]
Linklaters capital markets lawyer Paulette Mastin is a leading light in the field of law firm diversity, devoting much of her time to championing the work of black lawyers in the City. Linklaters capital markets lawyer Paulette Mastin is a leading light in the field of law firm diversity, devoting much of her time […]
Ukraine has huge potential for law firms, with tax and agriculture promising significant work streams. But as Dale McEwan finds, if it wants to attract foreign investment its legal system is going to have to clean up its act. Ukraine’s new tax code has been a widely debated and controversial piece of legislation. Introduced at […]
How are firms measuring up to the increasingly international nature of the litigation sector? Big-ticket litigation has never been more international and has never demanded more from the lawyers involved. Indeed, one of the key drivers behind the expansion of the world’s largest firms’ office networks in recent years has been the increasing need for litigation resources […]
New rules concerning funds were the hottest topic at The Lawyer’s second Funds Summit. Joanne Harris reports It is probably fair to say that few funds lawyers have yet had a chance to sit down and digest the latest doorstep-sized document that will affect their industry. But that has not stopped the European Securities and […]
Slaughter and May and Macfarlanes have secured competition clearance for the takeover of Chi-X Europe by US exchange BATS Global Markets after originally winning corporate roles on the deal. Experts say the approval is likely to lead to a listing next year for BATS, the third-largest exchange in the US. The deal is expected to […]
Manches has helped jeweller Fabergé launch its first London shop for almost a century. The high-end jeweller and has opened its first London store since World War I on Grafton Street, just off Bond Street. Sean Gilbertson, a partner at Pallinghurst Resources, the South African investment firm that owns Fabergé, did not use property agents […]